At the beginning of every episode in the first season, Mac makes a symbol out of a paper clip to represent the storyline of the episode.
The opening theme to the original can be heard during the first few seconds of the opening credits.
Many character names are borrowed from the original series, though only a few bear any resemblance to their original counterparts.
Patricia Thornton - Peter Thornton (Mac's boss at Phoenix)
Matty Webber - Matt Webber set-up Peter so Matt could take over Phoenix as Pete's successor
Jack Dalton - Mac's childhood friend - great at getting himself (and Mac) INTO, rather than out of, trouble
Wilt Bozer - brothers Milt and Wilt Bozer made a couple of minor appearances
Nikki Carpenter - Mac's polar opposite fellow agent, though never really a love interest (likely introduced to be one, but never became one)
Agent Bannister - old agent-buddy of Mac's, married a communist spy
Penny Parker - played by Terri Hatcher - aspiring actress Mac met in Europe, she became one of Mac's dearest friends
The Colton Family - "Mama", Frank, Jesse, & Billy (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) - the new rendition of the Coltons may be the best character "update" in this show - honors the originals while fully embracing new versions of the characters
Murdoc - What can you say about Murdoc? He is "not your normal professional killer".
Patricia Thornton - Peter Thornton (Mac's boss at Phoenix)
Matty Webber - Matt Webber set-up Peter so Matt could take over Phoenix as Pete's successor
Jack Dalton - Mac's childhood friend - great at getting himself (and Mac) INTO, rather than out of, trouble
Wilt Bozer - brothers Milt and Wilt Bozer made a couple of minor appearances
Nikki Carpenter - Mac's polar opposite fellow agent, though never really a love interest (likely introduced to be one, but never became one)
Agent Bannister - old agent-buddy of Mac's, married a communist spy
Penny Parker - played by Terri Hatcher - aspiring actress Mac met in Europe, she became one of Mac's dearest friends
The Colton Family - "Mama", Frank, Jesse, & Billy (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) - the new rendition of the Coltons may be the best character "update" in this show - honors the originals while fully embracing new versions of the characters
Murdoc - What can you say about Murdoc? He is "not your normal professional killer".
In season 2, all of the episodes after the first are named after two items that Mac combines in the episode. For example, Mac used a roulette wheel and wire to shrink the titanium vault door. He later uses a muscle car and paper clips to restart the heart of the target of the group Riley is infiltrating.
The title for each episode in Season 1 (except the pilot) is the name of a tool on MacGyver's iconic Swiss Army Knife.